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From my experience with Chevy V8's, you must leave the electric water pump on in street cars. The risk of relay failure with aftermarket kits is just to great in engine compartments.
Additionally, a belt driven water pump is always spinning which helps circulate the water in your engine when the thermostat is closed. The problem is that the variable engine RPMs help circulate the water faster when the car is accelerating so you get better flow.
The other problem was that the Weiland electric water pumps sucked. They were cosmetic builds 10 years ago. The "water passages" inside the pumps were restrictive. We wanted to drill them out but then you void the warranty. Ugh..
The lesson's we learned were hard and involved the overheating of several race engines before we finally just gave up on electric water pumps in passenger vehicles. They work great for drag racing because you only run the vehicle for brief periods of time. In fact, we liked electric water pumps because they allow you to cool off the engine when it is turned OFF. That means you can get consistent ET's by maintaining engine temps avoiding the costly predetonation found as the engines get hotter.
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